By James Cormack If the end of 2022 was Lionel Messi’s peak, the ascension of his final mountain, then 2023 was a wind-down year for the all-time great. Both Messi and supreme contemporary rival Cristiano Ronaldo have continued to dominate on less significant shores, away from the European limelight. Their respective career trajectories depicts the gradual decline of an era that we may never see again. In their place, French superstar Kylian Mbappe and Nordic machine Erling Haaland have been touted as the second coming of the two aforementioned greats. While contrasting in style, those have be…